Wanaka-based athletes won seven of the 10 sports awards presented at the Mitre 10 MEGA Wanaka Central Otago Sports Awards (COSA) 2020-2021 at the Wanaka Golf Club last night (Tuesday May 4).

Nico Porteous and Zoi Sadowski-Synnott jointly shared the Bruce Grant Memorial Supreme award after each won their respective senior Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards. 

Judges said both were at the top of their game on the international snowsports circuits and it was too difficult to separate them for the supreme award.

The annual COSAs celebrate Central Otago based athletes’ contributions to regional, national and international sport with awards ranging from best team, top coach, and best junior and senior sports men and women through to those displaying the best spirit and those who best served their sporting community.

Popular choice for the John Fitzharris Service to Sport award was Mary Lee, who is synonymous with Cardrona’s ski industry, cross country skiing and biathlon, Sport Central’s community sports advisor Tiny Carruthers said. 

Nico Porteous PHOTO: Supplied

Junior Sportswoman of the Year went to Mount Aspiring College student and cross country and middle distance runner and triathlete Hannah Prosser, who most recently won the South Island Secondary School Athletics (SISSA) Championships Open (Girls) 3000m by a massive margin.

Hannah’s win on Tuesday was against some particularly close competition, the judges said, including Wanaka’s Pyper Sarginson who is the NZ Champion Rookie Barrel Racer for 2020/21.

Hannah Prosser PHOTO: Wanaka App

Tiny said the judges had found it difficult even to narrow the junior sportswoman nominees down to the four finalists, saying many quality athletes missed out.

Freeskier Gustav Legnavsky, also from Wanaka, won the junior sportsman title and, as Gustav was overseas, his mum Bridget accepted the award on his behalf thanking the support of the community and acknowledging the influence of the many local snowsports athletes who had made it “normal” to win gold at international events. 

Open water swimmer Ferdia O’Connell was another Wanaka athlete to win, taking home the senior Spirit Award; the junior Spirit Award was won by Dunstan High School’s head boy Josh Allan, whose list of achievements include rugby and swimming coaching; rugby refereeing, canoe polo, and he’s the vice president of Alexandra swim club.

Open water swimmer Ferdia O’Connell wins the senior Spirit of Central Otago Award. PHOTO: Wanaka App

Other awards went to Simon Smith (Coach of the Year), the volunteer rowing coach for Dunstan High School and the Dunstan Arm Rowing Club; and the NZ Youth Olympic Curling Team from Maniototo which won the Teams Award, beating rowing teams from Wanaka and Dunstan.

In addition to the main sponsor (Mitre 10 MEGA Wanaka), other local sponsors of the awards included Duncan and Kelly Good; Gallaway Cook Allan; Wanaka Physio; and Racers Edge.

The awards evening, which was attended by about 150 people, was MCed by Queenstown radio announcer and district councillor Craig ‘Ferg’ Ferguson and the special guest speaker was two-times world women’s motocross champion Courtney Duncan.

PHOTOS: Wanaka App